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TIME AFTER TIME
How to Respond to Microaggressions
By Justin Levesque, Care Access Working Group (CAWG)
Bleeding disorders are genetic. Imagine you’re the mom of a daughter with hemophilia,
Why would you choose to you’ve just changed doctors, and your first appointment is
have second kid and risk coming up soon. You’ve heard good things about your new
another diagnosis? doctor, but, still, you painstakingly prepare by gathering your
medical documents and printing off pages and pages to prove
But FVII that women and girls can have hemophilia, just in case.
deficiency isn’t
Or, you’ve been going to events at your local hemophilia
even that chapter. You’re especially interested in the educational ses-
bad right? sions, but it seems like they are always talking about hemo-
philia A or B, and you have vWD. Does this chapter take vWD
Only men can have seriously? You’re hesitant to speak up and share your story, just
hemophilia. I’m not in case.
prescribing you factor.
As members of the bleeding disorder community, we’ve all had
Maybe if you were experiences like these. They illustrate the daily trials and trib-
more compliant, you ulations that consistently punctuate the life of someone with
a chronic condition. And, while each of these moments on its
wouldn’t have so own appears manageable on the surface, we know how they
many bleeds. can accumulate and become a burden emotionally. We know
they can shape our view of the world and of ourselves, each
8 Dateline Federation | Summer 2017 instance an unmistakable reminder that your experience is dif-
ferent, YOU are different.
These small slights or twinges, collected over time, amount to
what people are calling now a microaggression. Microaggres-
sions are technically defined as brief, everyday exchanges re-
garded as an instance of indirect, subtle, or unintentional dis-
crimination against members of a marginalized group. From
the uninformed ER doctor who wonders how long you’ve had a
bleeding disorder, misinformed about people being born with
a bleeding disorder, to the stranger in the grocery store staring
at your child’s bruised shins, this type of interaction is common
among community members.
Though we may not immediately recognize it, these events can
impact us greatly over time. It’s also important to remember
that interactions like these can occur within the bleeding disor-
ders community. We are not immune from perpetrating casual,
but ultimately hurtful, oversights of our own. For instance, a
friend who only infuses once a week might say, “Maybe if you
were more compliant, you wouldn’t have so many bleeds.” But
this friend has never had an inhibitor. He doesn’t understand
your personal challenges and how his words and assumptions
might sting.
